Guatemala

The Yemen office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed that 52 detainees were among those killed when air strikes hit a former community college compound on the northern outskirts of Dhamar City, United Nations teams in the country reported on Sunday.  As many as 170 detainees were being held there.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports that the number of attacks on schools in eastern Ukraine increased four-fold during the first four months of 2019, versus the same period in 2018, with schools attacked 12 times between January and April.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

UNICEF reports that 894 children — including 106 girls — were released today from the ranks of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a local militia that helps the Nigerian security forces in the fight against insurgency in the country’s north‑east.  UNICEF says more than 3,500 children were recruited between 2013 and 2017.

UNAIDS is concerned that new HIV infections are not declining among people who inject drugs, despite a decline in new infections globally.  A new report also shows that 99 per cent of them live in countries lacking adequate needle and syringe programmes, drug-dependency treatment, and HIV testing and treatment.

At least 34 United Nations and associated personnel were killed in malicious attacks while on duty in 2018, according to the annual report of the UN Staff Union’s Standing Committee for the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service. It is among the lowest casualty rates of the last five years.

The United Nations is concerned about reported violence and use of force by security forces during recent demonstrations in Douala, and condemns incidents of violence at Cameroon’s embassies in Paris and Berlin.  It is also concerned about the reported arrest of Maurice Kamto, leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights today expressed concern after the approval in first reading of a bill to amend Guatemala’s National Reconciliation Law.  If adopted, the amendment would result in a generalized amnesty for all cases of grave human rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict.

The World Health Organization reports that full operations in response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s North Kivu Province, which were disrupted by civil unrest in late December, have resumed across all locations. It warns that further interruptions could have serious consequences.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres: